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'Incendies' Director Now Set to Helm Black Listed Thriller 'Prisoners'

With top talent like Leonardo DiCaprio and Hugh Jackman previouslycircling the project, and directors like Antoine Fuqua being lined up to direct, the gestating thriller Prisoners has been trying to get off the ground for awhile. Now Incendies director Denis Villeneuve is the next to get involved. The story (which appeared on the 2009 Black List) follows a small-town man who, after his daughter and her friend are kidnapped and the cops fail to solve the crime, takes matters into his own hands, holding hostage the person he suspects committed the crime. He also comes into conflict with the big-city detective assigned to the case.

The film will mark the English language debut of the French Canadian director and if all goes well, 24 Frames says the project is looking to start shooting this fall. With the script gaining comparisons to films like Mystic River and Se7en, it's certainly a great production for Villeneuve to be introduced to a wider audience. And depending on the kind of on-screen talent that gets involved, it could be quite a big audience.

As for any of the aforementioned actors being involved, DiCaprio was the most recent to board the project but it appears he won't be starring after all, as is expected with another big change like this. Andrew Kosgrove at Alcon Entertainment (the company working on the project with Warner Bros) says, "He's a very talented actor but this process of choosing a director outside the three or four he normally works with became too time consuming. I don’t think it will happen with Leonardo." So that leaves the role open for any talented actor to step up to the plate. I'm looking forward to seeing this come together. What about you?